Hillary Clinton serves notice

Hillary Clinton won’t rule out having her name placed into nomination when the Democratic delegates vote at their convention in Denver. This has been Clinton’s stated position on several occasions recently. For example, she told supporters last week that she’s looking for a “strategy” for her delegates to have their voices heard and “validated” at the Democratic National Convention, and did not rule out the possibility of being put up for nomination alongside Barack Obama.

These statements probably represent a bargaining chip in Clinton’s efforts to receive as many concessions as possible in terms of exposure and opportunties to shine.

If Obama is smart, he will make plenty of concessions, and not just as way of avoiding the negativity that would attach to anything that remotely resembles a “floor fight” or confrontation. The convention represents Obama’s best (and arguably last) opportunity to make major inroads with female voters who supported Clinton and haven’t come around to Obama. Clinton’s cooperation is essential to taking advantage of that opportunity. But do the Clintons really want to cooperate?